North Carolina Emergency Management Association Institutions of Higher Education Caucus Rules

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1 Executive Summary & History On October 23, 2018, the (NCEMA) voted on and approved the creation of the Institutions of Higher Education Caucus and these Rules. Authority The Institutions of Higher Education Caucus was created and operates in accordance with Section 4, Article VIII of the Constitutions and Bylaws. Title The committee shall be known as the Institutions of Higher Education Caucus. Acceptable abbreviations include Institutions of Higher Ed Caucus or simply, IHEC. Mission The mission of the Institutions of Higher Education Caucus is to represent the emergency management issues surrounding college and university campuses in North Carolina. Although institutions of higher education are a part of the communities in which they reside, they take on special and sometimes unique considerations when assisting students, faculty, staff, and visitors in preparing for, responding to, recovering from, and mitigating against emergencies. The purpose of the IHEC is to provide emergency managers from institutions of higher education a voice on a local, state, and national scale to ensure government and other stakeholders address higher education needs. Standing Goals In addition to the annual goals and priorities established at the NCEMA Fall Conference, the IHEC will work for the following: Goal #1: To promote the importance of developing organized, comprehensive, all-hazard and integrative emergency management at all colleges and universities. Goal #2: To facilitate networking, communication, and best-practice sharing between colleges and university emergency management practitioners. Goal #3: To promote including college and university emergency management practitioners in the multi-jurisdictional, multi-disciplined, and multi-hazard emergency planning conducted at the campus, local, region, and state levels. Goal #4: To facilitate awareness of current legislative and planning issues in emergency management and interpretation of their effects on colleges and universities. Goal #5: To promote professionalism and professional development of college and university emergency management practitioners and/or programs. Goal #6: To promote quality instruction and research in the field of emergency management. Membership Eligibility Requirements All members of this Caucus shall be considered an Active member in the NCEMA in good standing. Having met the eligibility requirements of the NCEMA, and one of the categories of IHEC membership, an NCEMA member, shall become a member of the IHEC by indicating their interest in the IHEC by the method established by the NCEMA Secretary. The IHEC member shall remain a member of the IHEC in perpetuity, while eligibility requirements continue to be met, or until such time that the member indicates their desire to end membership in the IHEC or is removed in accordance with these Rules. 1

2 General Members The designation of General Member of the IHEC is granted to any current NCEMA member who serves in the role of emergency management practitioner or emergency management academic professional at a higher education institution. An emergency management practitioner is defined as a university or college employee who has been designated by his or her administration with a primary role (minimum of 25% of full-time equivalent) in administering emergency preparedness and management functions at his/her institution. An emergency management academic professional is defined as a university or college faculty member who teaches at minimum one course, for at least one semester credit hour, where at least one primary learning objective is related to the mission areas of emergency management: prevention, protection, mitigation, response, and/or recovery. An NCEMA member may also be defined as an emergency management academic professional if the faculty member conducts research in the field of emergency management. Supporting Members The designation of Supporting Member is granted to any current NCEMA member who does not serve in the role of emergency management practitioner or emergency management academic professional at an institution of higher education but has an interest in higher education emergency management. Supporting Members are not eligible to vote or hold office and are provided limited access to IHEC files and records. Caucus Leadership The Caucus Leadership shall be broken down into two (2) categories, officers, and special representatives. Officers and Branch Representatives positions shall be staffed by an emergency management practitioner. 1. Officers Chair Vice-Chair Secretary Immediate Past Chair 2. Special Representatives Western Branch Representative & Alternate Central Branch Representative & Alternate Eastern Branch Representative & Alternate Community College Academic Program Representative & Alternate Four-Year Institution Academic Program Representative & Alternate The NCEMA President nominates the Chair and Vice-Chair of the IHEC, which is approved by the NCEMA Executive Committee. To ensure leadership continuity, the IHEC recommends to the President and Executive Committee that leadership ascension shall occur similar to that of the Association wherein the Vice-Chair shall succeed to the office of Chair when the Chair s term ends or if the Chair vacates that office for any reason; and 2

3 the Secretary shall succeed to the office of Vice-Chair. The IHEC shall conduct a binding election to select the IHEC Secretary in anticipation of, and before, the scheduled end of a term of office or within 30 days whenever the office becomes vacant for any other reason. The result of the binding election for the IHEC Secretary by the IHEC Membership shall be the basis for a formal recommendation to the President and Executive Committee for the appointment of the slate of Officers. The current IHEC Chair shall transmit to the President the names of the current Vice-Chair and Secretary, and the results of such election for incoming IHEC Secretary in writing and shall request that the President and Executive Committee acknowledge and act in accordance with the wishes of the General Members of the IHEC. Nominations General Members meeting the following criteria will be eligible to be nominated for Secretary: Served as a current or previous Branch Representative; or participated on an IHEC Workgroup; and, Can fulfill the duties of Secretary as outlined in this document. Nominees may be nominated by any other General Member, including themselves, and such nomination must be submitted to the current IHEC Secretary for eligibility. Elections Selection of the IHEC Secretary shall be made by a private ballot using a suitable method of voting as determined by the IHEC Leadership and shall be made available to all General Members of the IHEC. Chair The IHEC Chair shall be nominated by the President at least 30 days before the current chair s term expires or within 30 days after a position becomes vacant. Nominations will be made from NCEMA members who meet the membership eligibility requirements for an IHEC general member and will be approved by the Executive Committee. In accordance with the wishes of the IHEC as established by these Rules, the IHEC recommends to the President that the current Vice-Chair shall be nominated to succeed as Chair. The Chair will serve a 1-year term beginning and ending at the NCEMA Fall Conference. The Chair shall promote the mission and standing goals of the IHEC and act as a representative of the IHEC to other associations and/or entities involved in emergency management programs and activities. The Chair shall convene meetings of the IHEC Leadership but shall not vote on any questions except to break a tie. The Chair shall appoint a replacement in the event of a vacancy of a member of the IHEC Leadership for the remaining term of that office and make other appointments as necessary. Executive Committee Liaison The IHEC Chair will serve as the Liaison to the Executive Committee and operate as an intermediary to the IHEC members. 3

4 Vice-Chair & Secretary The IHEC Vice-Chair and IHEC Secretary shall be nominated by the President at least 30 days before the current Chair s term expires or within 30 days after a position becomes vacant. Nominations will be made from NCEMA members who meet the membership eligibility requirements for an IHEC member and will be approved by the Executive Committee. In accordance with the wishes of the IHEC as established by these Rules, the IHEC recommends to the President that the current IHEC Secretary shall be nominated to succeed as Vice-Chair. The Vice-Chair and IHEC Secretary will serve a 1-year term beginning and ending at the NCEMA Fall Conference. The Vice-Chair will be responsible for developing, updating, and monitoring the progress of the IHEC Strategic Plan and shall serve as IHEC parliamentarian. The IHEC Secretary will be responsible for ensuring all official IHEC business is documented, including but not limited to issuance of meeting agendas and minutes. Immediate Past Chair The IHEC Immediate Past Chair is the person who was nominated by the President, installed, and served the most recently concluded term as Chair of the IHEC. In addition, the Immediate Past Chair must continue to meet the membership eligibility requirements for the IHEC during his/her term. The Immediate Past Chair will serve a term that coincides with the Chair, beginning and ending at the NCEMA Fall Conference. The Immediate Past Chair shall serve as an advisor to the Chair and IHEC, serve on workgroups as designated by the Chair, and be delegated other duties and projects at the Chair s discretion. The Immediate Past Chair can seek nomination for the IHEC Secretary position once he/she completes their term as Immediate Past Chair. Branch Representatives Branch Representatives shall be appointed by the IHEC Chair at least 30 days before the current chair s term expires or within 30 days after a position becomes vacant. Appointments will be made from IHEC Members and must be employed at a college or university in the branch they are representing. To promote the diversity of the IHEC, a Branch Representative should not work for the same institution as any of the Officers, unless no other IHEC member is willing to accept the representative seat. Branch Representatives will serve one-year terms, beginning and ending at the NCEMA Fall Conference. Branch Representatives may serve consecutive terms if appointed by the Chair to do so. Branch Representatives must participate in at least half of the regular IHEC scheduled leadership activities. Branch Representatives shall solicit input from institutions of higher education within their region on topics before the IHEC, as appropriate. They shall foster active dialogue of all institutions by encouraging them to join appropriate discussion groups, list serves, and obtain NCEMA membership. 4

5 Each Branch Representative is to designate one (1) Alternate who can fulfill the roles and responsibilities of the Representative in his/her absence at meetings and conferences. Alternates are subject to the same membership eligibility requirements. To encourage diversity and increased participation, alternates should not represent the same institution as the primary Representative. Branch Representatives are permitted, and strongly encouraged, to create Branch substructures as they see fit to efficiently administer the roles and responsibilities of their office. Branch substructures are not considered Workgroups, as defined in the Workgroup section of this document, and therefore do not have to be approved by the Chair. Academic Program Representatives Academic Program Representatives (Academic Representatives) shall be appointed by the IHEC Chair at least 30 days before the current chair s term expires or within 30 days after a position becomes vacant. An appointment will be made from IHEC Members who are emergency management academic professionals employed at a college or university. The Academic Representatives will serve one-year terms, beginning and ending at the NCEMA Fall Conference. The Academic Representatives may serve consecutive terms if appointed by the Chair to do so. The Academic Representatives must participate in at least half of the regular IHEC scheduled leadership activities. The Academic Representatives shall solicit input from other emergency management academic professionals on topics before the IHEC, as appropriate. They shall foster active dialogue of all institutions by encouraging them to join appropriate discussion groups, list serves, and obtain NCEMA membership. Academic Representatives are to designate one (1) Alternate who can fulfill the roles and responsibilities of the Academic Representatives in his/her absence at meetings and conferences. The Alternate is subject to the same membership eligibility requirements. To encourage diversity and increased participation, alternates should not represent the same institution as the primary Academic Representative. Academic Representatives are permitted, and strongly encouraged, to create a substructure as they see fit to efficiently administer the roles and responsibilities of their office. Academic substructures are not considered a Workgroup, as defined in the Workgroup section of this document, and therefore does not have to be approved by the Chair. Workgroups As necessary to further the Strategic Plan of the IHEC, the Chair may establish Workgroups to address specific issues. The Workgroup shall be led by IHEC members in good standing and report regularly to the IHEC Chair. The Workgroup membership is appointed by the IHEC Chair and may include any individual deemed appropriate for the task, regardless of IHEC membership. Workgroups are limited to the term of the appointing Chair and may be reconvened by subsequent IHEC Chairs as needed. Advisory Panel The IHEC Chair may appoint an Advisory Panel to the IHEC composed of individuals who are not NCEMA members but have knowledge, skills, and abilities that would enhance the function of the IHEC. Advisory Panel members have no voting authority on the IHEC. 5

6 Meetings, Dialogue The IHEC Leadership shall meet, in physical person, at each NCEMA conference. As needed, additional in-person meetings may be scheduled to address specific issues of an important or urgent nature. Ongoing dialogue between IHEC Leadership via , telephone, and/or online discussion board is strongly encouraged. Additional, at least quarterly meetings, whether by Internet, teleconference or other meeting arrangements, shall be convened by IHEC Leadership to further the advancement of the IHEC goals. IHEC meetings are open to the membership and shall be publicized to the membership at least 48 hours before the scheduled start of the meeting to allow interested members to participate. A closed meeting may be held only for the purpose of discussion or action upon the initial or continuing eligibility of an IHEC member, representative, or officer. Official Business, Quorum, and Voting of the IHEC Leadership The IHEC Leadership can bring a topic forward for IHEC general membership voting. Official IHEC business can be conducted at any publicized, scheduled IHEC meeting. In order to conduct official IHEC business, a quorum must be established. A quorum for all business other than action on IHEC Rules is defined to be at least half of the current IHEC Leadership. The participation of either the Chair or Vice-Chair is required. A simple majority vote of quorum is required to approve official business, unless otherwise specified in the NCEMA Constitution and Bylaws section regarding IHECs. Each member of IHEC Leadership is allotted one vote. If unable to attend a meeting where official business is conducted, Branch Representatives may delegate their vote by proxy. Votes may also be submitted electronically to the IHEC Secretary before the official vote by a process approved by the IHEC officers. Action on IHEC Rules may be introduced at any scheduled meeting, but a recorded vote will be in order during any subsequent meeting with the vote carried by a majority of IHEC members present. 6